Metal Gear Solid by Raymond Benson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Metal Gear Solid
Book Review: Another great video game novel.
Summary: 5 Stars
Benson has done another great job with this one. He has written this third video game cross over book and done so well. Benson must really enjoy the stealth genre. :)Book Review: Awesome Game, Not-So-Awesome Book
Summary: 1 Stars
Metal Gear Solid is my favorite video game of all time, so I thought the book would be amazing. I was so excited when I got it and started reading it. But that quickly changed to disappointment after the first couple of chapters.
The plot, the dialogue, and the way the characters acted was different from the game. Not enough to be a whole new story, but enough that it was irksome and annoying. I did read all the way through the book (and marked the differences between it and the game as I went), and I know I won't ever read it again. If I want the story, I'll play the game.
Certain parts of the game were awesome - my favorite parts, actually - and they were changed in the book. It's like Benson had complete creative license to fiddle with the characters and plot however he pleased.
What's really disappointing is that Raymond Benson writes under the pseudonym David Michaels, and as Michaels, he writes the Splinter Cell novels. In my opinion, he captures Sam Fisher (the main character of the Splinter Cell games) very well.
Unfortunately, that's not the case for this book. If you've played the game and are expecting the same plot and dialogue in the book, you'll be sorely disappointed.
I would highly recommend the game. I would not recommend this book.
Book Review: Bringing The Video Game To The Novel... A Great Move!
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought a copy of this book at Borders and I have to say the author did a good job of putting the piece of the video game into a novel together. When you open the book, you will be amazed of Mr. Benson's imagination of what was not included in the game or if Snake encounters a boss. When that happens, the author creates his own image and includes specific details on how the story is laid out. This book will keep your entertained and when I started reading it, I didn't want to put the book down! Benson also changes the dialogue a little bit (probably for copyright reasons) to a more modern one. There is a few swearing in the book that was not mentioned in the game and a lot more insight of the characters. If you are a Metal Gear Solid fan, get this book! Get the second one too when it comes out!Book Review: Can this book be good and bad?
Summary: 3 Stars
As a huge fan of the game world and series created around MGS I finally bought this book for a recent plane ride. I've played through the original enough times on the PS2 and Gamecube that I know the story by heart. So I was just expecting some more detail that would have interrupted the flow of the game, but would work in the book. That isn't quite what I got. The Solid Snake in the book does not come off as the same one from the game. While I was looking for maybe more insight into the character that a novel might provide, what I got was a mix of Solid Snake and every generic 80s action star combined. There are logic failures all over and many of the elements from the story in the game have been changed. Not just for dramatic effect, but changed for just no reason I can see. While the book as a whole might be seen as interesting enough for a guilty pleasure read, I can't recommend it to fans of the series. The character developed in the game is done much better than what is done in the book. At no point play through the video game could I have imagined the battle hardened Solid Snake saying 'hunky dory', which he does in the book. Some of the story is verbatim from the game, and some seems elements are drastically changed for no apparent reason. I can see the reason for not wanting to just retell the story from the video game exactly, but this could have been done better. The novelization of Halo is a good example of adding detail without drastically changing the character or the story. But really trying to novelize a video game can't be easy, so I don't fault the author for trying.Book Review: Done right for a change
Summary: 4 Stars
Even though this is just a redo of the hit game, nothing was changed that would undo the story or change it in any way, what they did add was a few eliminates from a few of the other metal gear games that add to the book. For those who are new to the series its a great start to get you into it, and for those who aren't its a good walk down memory lane.